Sounds Rad (2018)
There was definitely a period in the mid 90s where I would have told you without hesitation that the Mr. T Experience was one of the best bands on the planet. The way they combined essential pop punk hooks with lyrics that were way too smart for me to completely process put them head and shoulders above so many other bands of the era that were mining the same influences. While I can't say I followed them every step of the way after a certain point, they went on a multi album spree for a while that is an essential part of my record collection.
Shards compiles a bunch of 'lost songs' from a large swath of time that the Mr. T Experience was active. Most have been released on compilations, singles or hastily added tracks to the CD versions of some of their albums. For many, this is their first appearance on vinyl. There are some that have been long time favorites of mine such as the Shonen Knife cover "Flying Jelly Attack," "Semi-OK" and one of several iterations of "God Bless America."
There also a few that I've never heard including an interesting version of "Sackcloth and Ashes" that is just Dr. Frank and bucket load of tremolo. I dig the way the song is stripped bare and allows the vocal melody to really shine through.
The entire album is surprisingly consistent in sound and song quality considering the different sources of each of these songs. I enjoy finally having these songs in one handy place on vinyl. There's a volume two out there digitally, I can only assume it'll make its way to vinyl at some point as well. After that, I hope they get around to doing a proper singles compilation of all of those tracks that aren't on studio albums. Again, would be nice to have those all in one place for a quick spin on the turntable.
The Mr. T Experience - Shards Volume One (I couldn't find this on Bandcamp or anywhere other than Spotify, which I never use. Maybe it's useful to you though):
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